§ LORD SIMON OF WYTHENSHAWEasked Her Majesty's Government if they will state (a) the relative explosive power of the 10-megaton bomb and of the largest type of TNT bomb used in World War II; and (b) the number of sorties that would be needed for an enemy to do 206WA the same degree of destruction in Britain by means of TNT bombs as would be done by one 10-megaton hydrogen bomb.
THE EARL OF ONSLOWThe explosive power of the 10-megaton hydrogen bomb is about a million times that of the Grand Slam bomb used in World War II. No worthwhile estimate can be given of the number of sorties that would be needed for an enemy to cause the same destruction in Britain by means of TNT bombs as would be done by one 10-megaton hydrogen bomb because so much depends on assumptions about such factors as the locality of the target, the accuracy of delivery, the overlap of bombed areas and the type of defence provided.
House adjourned at seventeen minutes past six o'clock.